Department for Transport

Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend theElectric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to increase the uptake of electric vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government has committed £2.5 billion to offset the higher upfront costs of electric vehicles and funding to accelerate the rollout of the charging infrastructure. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme has been a phenomenal success and is heavily oversubscribed. We have considered carefully how to manage a transition from its current scope to one that is more focused on those that need it most.The Government recognises the difficulties that people renting or leasing properties can face when looking to install chargepoints. We are therefore reforming the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to focus our resources on helping them. This will give more support to people who live in flats or rent. We are expanding who can apply to allow landlords, such as social housing providers, to access the scheme and providing them with additional support to install chargepoints for parking in apartment blocks.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electric Cables: Storms

Lord Bruce of Bennachie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to review the vulnerability of electricity power lines to disruption caused by storm damage.

Lord Callanan: The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for system resilience, consumer protection and additional response support. The Interim Report was published on 17 February 2022 and can be accessed on gov.uk

Department of Health and Social Care

Blood Cancer: Health Professions

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of haematological workforce shortages on patient (1) outcome, and (2) experience.

Lord Kamall: The Department has made no such assessment.

Coronavirus: Ivermectin

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, given the speed with which vaccines against COVID-19 were approved, what are the causes of the delay to the approval of the use of Ivermectin; and what assessment they have made of (1) the approval of Ivermectin by other countries, and (2) the health benefits that would result from approving Ivermectin for use in the UK.

Lord Kamall: Ivermectin was entered into the PRINCIPLE clinical trial in the United Kingdom in June 2021. The trial aims to generate robust evidence to determine its effectiveness as a treatment against COVID-19.To date, there is no conclusive evidence for the efficacy of ivermectin in treating and preventing COVID-19, as there have been no supportive randomised control trials in the United Kingdom. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization have concluded that the evidence in support of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment is insufficient to warrant a marketing authorisation. The FDA has issued warnings against the use of ivermectin whilst it remains in trials, as it can have dangerous interactions with other medicines. Currently, there is no firm deadline set for the publication of trial results. However, the Therapeutics Taskforce continues to monitor any emerging evidence for ivermectin’s use as a treatment for COVID-19.

Ministry of Justice

Job Centres and Prisons: Cameras

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) job centres, and (2) prisons, currently use Chinese-made Hikvision and Dahua Technology cameras.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: 1) DWP have one Hikvision camera across DWP jobcentres.DWP have no Dahua cameras in any jobcentres.2) MoJ does not disclose details of our prison security defence capability, including our use of CCTV, for reasons of operational security.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

Lord Lamont of Lerwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received representations from charities about difficulties in sending medicines, including paracetamol, by lorry to Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is working closely with the UN and other humanitarian partners to ensure a well-coordinated and well-funded response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the region. We have not been approached by our partners about any difficulties in sending medicines to Ukraine.

China: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding recent reports of the disappearance or imprisonment of human rights defenders.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including the continued harassment and detention of human rights defenders. We consistently raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities, including by requesting to attend trials of human rights defenders. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary underlined our concerns about human rights violations in China in an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March.

China: Freedom of Expression

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding recent reports that Chinese citizens who attempted to report on the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 have (1) disappeared, or (2) been imprisoned.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We regularly raise our concerns about restrictions on media freedom - including the detention of journalists - with the Chinese authorities. In December, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador urged China to free all journalists detained for their reporting, and in particular called for the release of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was jailed after reporting about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.

China: Christianity

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding recent reports that bishops are (1) secretly detained, (2) placed under house arrest, and (3) subjected to forced disappearance and "patriotic education"; and further to the jailing of Pastor Hao Zhiwei in February, what assessment they have made of his sentencing.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are concerned by reports that Pastor Hao Zhiwei was sentenced to eight years in prison in February on fraud charges. This adds to our deep concern about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China. We regularly raise our concerns about human rights violations and freedom of religion or belief directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary underlined our concerns in an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March.

Development Aid

Lord Bruce of Bennachie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to rebuild development capacity once the commitment to a target spending of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income for Official Development Assistance is restored.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO continues to maintain its development capability, and is focusing its learning and development efforts to ensure that it has the right people with the right capabilities working on the highest priorities. The launch of the FCDO removed outdated and artificial distinctions between diplomacy and overseas development. The successes of COP26, the Global Education Summit, and the UK's G7 Presidency, all show the value of integrating development and diplomatic expertise to deliver for the UK.The Government is committed to returning to spending 0.7% of GNI on official development assistance (ODA) when the fiscal situation allows and has provided a clear measure for this. The two key tests are (1) When we are not borrowing to support day-to-day spending; (2) When underlying debt is falling. Improving economic forecasts show that HMG may meet its test to return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA in the final year of this Spending Review.

Northern Ireland Protocol

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their command paper Northern Ireland Protocol: the way forward (CP 502), published on 21 July 2021, what progress they have made to introduce new UK legislation envisaged in paragraphs 43 and 62.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government is still in discussions with the EU regarding the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, including on the issues detailed in paragraphs 43 and 62. So far we have not seen the flexibility necessary to address the issues we are seeing. However, as the Command Paper notes, we stand ready to put in place necessary arrangements to support a durable and sustainable outcome on the Protocol if agreement is reached as a result of those discussions.

Ukraine: Cultural Heritage

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are giving to Ukraine to help protect that country’s arts and cultural heritage; and how they are delivering that assistance.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for DCMS has written to the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, offering whatever practical support is feasible. We are working with UNESCO, Blue Shield International, the British Council and other allies to ensure Russia meets its obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This requires Russia to avoid damaging significant heritage sites, monuments or other cultural property in Ukraine.I commend all those in the UK cultural sector who have demonstrated their solidarity with the artists and people of Ukraine, from arranging performances in support of Ukraine to lighting their buildings in Ukrainian colours.

Home Office

Community Safety Partnerships

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales are using the Cardiff Model (A&E) data to identify serious violence hotspots; whether they have plans to extend the usage of this data; and what is the timetable for that extension.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This government recognises the benefits of using the Cardiff Model to identify serious violence hotspots. That is why we continue to encourage all Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) to meet the expectation to work with local hospitals to implement the sharing of appropriate health data to tackle serious violence, as detailed in the 2018 Serious Violence Strategy for England and Wales. At this time, data on the percentage of CSPs using this model is not held centrally.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Refugees: Ukraine

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 2 March (HL Deb col 846), when they intend to open a sponsored pathway for Ukrainians not related to persons settled in the UK to obtain entry into the UK as a refugee; what are the sponsorship requirements for any such application; and what qualifications are required to act as a sponsor.

Lord Harrington of Watford: Details of the plans to open a sponsored pathway for Ukrainians not related to persons settled in the UK were announced in Secretary of State's, Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities in his Oral Statement to Parliament of 14 March 2022:   Sponsors must be able to offer accommodation for at least 6 months and will be required to undergo necessary vetting checks.

Refugees: Ukraine

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they plan to give to local authorities to assist in housing refugees from Ukraine.

Lord Harrington of Watford: I refer the Noble Lord to the Secretary of State's Oral Statement (attached) to Parliament of 14 March 2022.Oral Statement (pdf, 473.8KB)